Just like donating blood, being a bone marrow donor is a gesture of affection and can save lives.
With over five million registered people, Brazil has the third largest bone marrow donor bank in the world, behind only the United States and Germany. The figure is to be celebrated, however, two problems still need to be faced in order for the numbers to turn into concrete donations.
Among the main problems is the lack of donors, as few people respond to the invitation to donate and many do not even update their registration data. According to the National Register of Voluntary Bone Marrow Donors (REDOME), one in three people have incorrect data on the donor form.
World Bone Marrow Donor Day
In order to promote awareness of the importance of donation Marrow Donor Day, also known as World Marrow Donor Day (WMDD), was created to change this reality. It is celebrated on the third Saturday of September, that is, this year it will be the 17th. “This day aims to reaffirm the importance of bone marrow donation, thank all donors and highlight global cooperation for bone marrow transplant”, details Reggiane Sales, hematologist at Anchieta Hospital.
donation saves lives
Just like donating blood, being a bone marrow donor is a gesture of affection, care and concern for others. “The donated bone marrow will be used for bone marrow transplant, also called hematopoietic stem cell transplant, which is a treatment that aims to replace a diseased bone marrow with a healthy one, in order to restore normal blood cell production and contribute to the treatment of various diseases “, explains Jackeline Felix, hematologist at the São Francisco Hospital.
That is, transplantation is indicated in the case of various diseases, such as leukemias, lymphomas, multiple myeloma, bone marrow aplasia and immunodeficiencies. “Patients wait for a matched donor usually lasts months, so more donors are key to expanding their matchability and speeding up the donation process,” adds the hematologist.
Requirements to register
To register and become a donor it is necessary to be between 18 and 35 years of age, in good health, not to have diseases such as infectious, immunological, haematological (blood) and neoplastic (cancer) diseases or any disabling disease. Subject to the prerequisites, the person must enroll in the Blood Center in their state and donate 10ml of blood for analysis.
Stages of the donation process
1. Compatibility analysis
More complete compatibility tests will be carried out from the material collected in the registry, which can facilitate identification compatible donors. It is worth remembering that, after registration, the donor’s data will be archived and the donation can be made up to 60 years of age. It is only important to keep the information up to date.
“The collected material is subjected to a histocompatibility test (HLA) and the donor information enters the REDOME (National Register of Bone Marrow Donors).) And the system searches for a compatible donor”, explains the doctor Reggiane Sales.
Two. cell collection
Once the compatibility between donor and patient has been verified, the donor is summoned to perform the collection procedure stamina cells hematopoietic. “This can be done from peripheral blood through an apheresis machine or by puncture with a needle into the bones of the pelvis. The latter form of collection is done in a surgical center and under anesthesia, so that the donor does not feel pain.” adds Sales. .
3. infusion into the patient
Instead, the donated material will be infused into the patient through a venous catheter, similar to a blood transfusion. “Through circulation, these cells will reach the inside of the bones that produce the bone marrow, where they should multiply and form a new bone marrow,” says doctor Jackeline Felix.
By Frederico Lorenz Beck
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Source: Terra
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